Hi Devlounge readers! Thord has kindly given me this opportunity to tell you about a one-of-a-kind event you’ve gotta be a part of.

It’s called Blog Action Day. If you haven’t heard of it yet, you will on Wednesday, October 15. 🙂

We’re a non-profit organization trying to get the world’s bloggers to talk about (and, we hope, actually do something about) a given subject on October 15 each year.

In 2007, the first annual Blog Action Day focused on the environment. About 20,000 bloggers participated.

The chosen theme for 2008: poverty. Once again, we anticipate many thousands of participants, including at least 20 of the Technorati top 100 blogs.

We hope to change the global conversation next Wednesday – and maybe the world, even if it’s just a little.

You can register your blog at our website to help us track how many people are going to take part in Blog Action Day 2008.

I’m the assistant event coordinator for BAD08, which means I help make sure our email inbox, blog, Twitter account and other online profiles are running smoothly. I also try to find organizations and companies who might support our event. (We’ve got nearly 80 so far.)

All Web designers and developers should pay close attention to the viral approach Blog Action Day has taken. The homepage showcases an addictive video that people often share with friends. We have banners and images that people can grab and use freely. And we flaunt those big numbers right on our homepage to excite even more people. 

And yet the bulk of the actual work is being done by a very small team – perhaps four or five people who are really deeply involved.

Giant gates can swing on small hinges.

Will you be a hinge with me?